L.A. Will Pay $21 Million to Settle Claims That Cops Messed Up the Setting Off of Fireworks. Three Years Ago
LOS ANGELES— Los Angeles will pay more than $21 million to settle claims made by people who live in a neighborhood where cops messed up the setting off of a stash of illegal fireworks three years ago, hurting 17 people and forcing dozens more to move.
The payments were approved by the City Council unanimously on Tuesday. The Los Angeles Times stated that the settlements will now be sent to Mayor Karen Bass for approval.
Curren Price, a councilmember for the South Los Angeles district where the blast happened, said he was sorry that the process of making a deal was “agonizingly slow.”
Price said in a statement, “The people who were hurt in the 27th Street fireworks explosion have been through unbearable pain and trauma that will last a lifetime.” “Completing these financial settlements was a very important step toward their healing, getting their lives back on track, and finding peace and stability.”
There are 17 claimants, and the Times says the settlement amounts range from $100,000 to $2.8 million.
At a house on East 27th Street on June 30, 2021, police found about 32,000 pounds of illegal fireworks, homemade fireworks, and other explosives.
A government report says that the LAPD bomb squad put almost 40 pounds of the most volatile and dangerous homemade fireworks into a container that was only meant to hold 33 pounds.
The fireworks were meant to be set off safely at the scene because they were too unstable to move. Instead, the ship burst, sending pieces of metal and glass into many homes, businesses, and cars.
Ten police officers and seven locals were hurt in the explosion, which also damaged 22 homes, 13 businesses, and 37 cars and trucks. About 80 people had to move.
Damage to the working-class area was more than $1 million, and the city has spent millions more on repairs, housing, and other help for the people who live there.
Federal agents said that bomb squad technicians didn’t realize how heavy the explosive material was because they didn’t use a scale to measure it. They also didn’t listen to a team member who said the material should be broken up into smaller loads.
The fireworks were found in the home of Arturo Ceja III, who is 27 years old. He pleaded guilty to one count of transporting explosives without a license and was given a five-month federal prison term.